Slabbing-mill



W. J. TODHUNTER.

SLABBiNG MILL- APPLICATiON FILED 050.31.1919.

1, 349,02 1 Patented Aug. 10, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WILLIAM J. TODHUNTER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SLABBING-MILL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 10, 1920.

Application filed December 31, 1919. Serial No. 348,623.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. Ton- HUNTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State. of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Slabbing- Mills, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to metal rolling and particularly to means for delivering an ingot from the soaking pit to the slabbing or blooming mill for the initial rolling operation.

The present method of delivering ingots to the blooming or slabbing mill, 2'. e., the mill wherein the first rolling operations are performed. includes a buggy which carries the ingot from the soaking pit and delivers the same to the ingot run table. Such an arrangement is inconvenient in that the buggy must be swung away from the path of travel of the metal being reduced by the mill whenever it is desired to roll the ingot into long bars, so that on the return of the long bar of metal which has been reduced the bar may have passage over the full length of the ingot run table. Where an ingot buggy is employed it has been found that sometimes successful reduction of the ingot to long strips or bars cannot be carried out because the buggy interferes with the backward movement of the bar when the same is long enough to cover approximately the full length of the ingot table; also the maintenance and operation of ingot buggies is expensive.

It is an object of my invention to provide in a slabbing mill especially means for delivering an ingot from the soaking pits to the slabbing or blooming mill in such manner as to permit full use of the ingot run table whenever it may be desired to reduce the ingot to a long bar or the like.

A further object is to provide means for delivering an ingot to the slabbing mill from the soaking pit in as expedient a manner as possible.

Another object is to provide means for delivering the ingot to the blooming or slabbing mill by utilizing inexpensive and easily replaceable carrier means.

A still further object is to improve ingot delivery for successful commercial use.

The objects of my invention will be clearly understood from the appended drawings and fully pointed out in the specification and appended claims. i

In carrying out my invention I employ what I term a slotted slab, i. e., a slab the width of which is 'subtantially that of the ingot run table and which has its front portions slotted, providing fingers. At the end of the ingotrun table are provided collared rollers, the diameters of which are greater than the diameters of the rollers on the ingot run table. The slots in the slab and the collars on the rollers are so correlated that the slabs will receive the collars and any mgot that may be on the slab will be delivered to the collared rollers and thereby raised from the slab for delivery to the mill approach table.

In the drawings, Figure 1 shows in plan a portion of the adjacent ends of the ingot run table and mill approach table embodyng my invention. This shows a slotted slab m position to deliver an ingot to the mill approach table.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an end elevational view of one of the collared rollers of my invention;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on line 44 of Fig. 1, and,

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic representation of a slabbing mill arranged to embody my invention.

The portion of the roll train which I term the ingot run table comprises the usual transverse rollers 10 supported in end bearings 11 on side frames 12, and are driven by the usual pinions 13 meshing with similar pinions 14 on shaft 15. Shaft 15 is connected with a source of power and may be driven in either direction to reverse the direction of rotation of the rollers 10, as is usual practice. The frames 12 have the usual side guide portions 16 to aid in directing the ingot on the table. The mill approach table comprises rollers 17 carried in end bearings 18 on side frames 19 and driven by pinions 20 and 21 rotated by shaft 22. These rollers also may be driven in either direction of rotation. Similar side guides are provided to aid in directing the material on the table. For obvious reasons the width of the mill approach table is greater than the width of the ingot run table.

Between the rollers 10 of the ingot run table and 17 of the mill approach table are interposed rollers 24 having collars 25 thereon, the diameters of the collars being greater than the diameter of either of the sets of rollers 10 or 17. The rollers 2d are arranged in the same axial plane as the rollers 10 and are driven through gears 26 and 27 on shaft 15. In other words, the rollers 24 revolve with the rollers 10 of the ingot run table. The usual mechanism is provided for operating the rollers 10 and 17, but as this mechanism may be of any well known type I do not consider it necessary to show and describe the same here.

The ingot-carrying means which I show herein include a slotted slab 28 made up preferably in laminated form, 27. 6., comprising a series of flat plates suitably secured together. The front end of the slab is slotted, the width of the slots being greater than the thickness of the collars 25 on the rollers 24. By slotting the front end of the slab fingers 29 are formed therein, the depth of the slots being such as to permit the fingers 29 to extend to and abut plates 30 whereby to stop the movement of the slab under certain conditions while permitting the slab to underlie the ingot on collared rollers 24.

The operation of my invention is as follows:

When an ingot is placed on the slab 28 by the usual mechanism, the slab will be in the rearmost position of the ingot run table, 2'. e., in the position indicated by the letter A in Fig. 5. The heated ingot is placed flatwise on the slab and as the slab in length is but slightly greater than the length of the ingot it will be observed that a portion of the ingot must lie on the fingers 29 of the slab. The proper control mechanism is then actuated to rotate the rollers 10 in such a direction as to move the slab toward the collared rollers 24. Prefzzrahly. the rollers 10 will be operated at a higher rate of speed so that the time of travel with the ingot thereon from the position A in Fig. 5 to the collared rollers will be relatively small as compared to the travel of the ingot on the similar operating members of the ingot approach table, thus preventing loss of the heat in the ingot. It will be observed that as the slotted slab 28 approaches the collared rollers 24 the ingot will be raised on the rollers from the slab and will occupy the position shown in Fig. 2. By the time that the ingot has been delivered to all of the collared rollers, three being shown in the drawings, the slab will have been blocked by engagement with the plates 30 even though the rollers 10 may operation, and as these rollers will be continued in operation to move the ingot from the collared rollers 24 to the rollers 17 of the mill approach table. When the ingot he continued in ,has been delivered to the rollers 17, the direction of rotation of the rollers 10 may be reversed and the slab 28 may then be withdrawn to the initial position A for the reception of another ingot, or to remain at rest in this position as long as the ingot is being treated by the slabbing mill. It will readily be observed that by my invention it will be possible to utilize the complete length of the roller tables for rolling long lengths if desired, and that there is nothing to interfere with the end of the bar being moved back to the farthest end of the ingot run table. When an ingot is formed in a mold and withdrawn therefrom, the ingot is rough and sometimes projections known as hickeys" extend therefrom and in the operation of rolling on the roller run tables the hickeys break the table rollers as the ingots bump over these. The bumping breaks the rollers of the various roller tables so that the rollers have to be frequently replaced. I/Vith the old style of ingot buggy the ingots were delivered directly onto the rollers 10 and carried by them to the mill approach table. This practice was found to be most expensive, as the rollers were broken or damaged to such an extent as to require repair. My invention eliminates all possibility of damage to the rollers, as no part of the ingot is permitted to touch them, especially the fast-moving ingot run table rollers, and it is to the ingot run table and ingot buggy that most of the damage heretofore has been experienced. The slotted slab of my invention may be made from laminated plates or a slab and as thick and as strong as requirements demand. It is an inexpensive article and one which may readily b replaced when broken or worn out, with but a small percentage of the cost which would result if the slotted slab of my invention were not employed.

While I have described more or less precisely the details of construction of my invention, I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself thereto, as I contemplate changes in form and the proportion of parts and the substitution of equivalents as circumstances may suggest or render expediout, without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. In an ingot delivery mechanism, in

combination with an ingot run table and a mill approach table, of a slab adapted to support an ingot and to be moved on the ingot run table, and means for lifting said ingot from sald slab and delivering same to the mill approach table.

2. In an ingot delivery mechanism, in combination with an in ot run table and a mill approach table, or a freely movable plate adapted to travel in both directions along said ingot run table actuated by the rollers thereof and adapted to carry an ingot thereon.

3. In an ingot delivery mechanism, in combination with an ingot run table and a mill approach table, of a plate adapted to be moved along said ingot run table by the rollers thereof and adapted to support an ingot clear of said rollers.

4. An ingot delivery mechanism including in combination an ingot run table, a mill approach table in alinement with said ingot table, and collared rollers interposed between said tables which collars are greater in diameter than the rollers of the ingot table, and a slotted slab for supporting an ingot adapted to be reciprocated on the ingot table whereby said slotted portion may straddle said collars, and the ingot carried thereby be transferred from said slab to said collars.

Signed at Chicago, of November, 1919.

WILLIAM J. TODHUNTER.

Illinois, this 21st day 

